Barnes may have found fountain of hard truths

Updated 3:11 am, Friday, November 9, 2012

Photo: Eric Gay, Associated Press

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In this Dec. 6, 2011, file photo, Texas coach Rick Barnes, left, talks with Myck Kabongo, right, during an NCAA college basketball game against Texas-Arlington in Austin, Texas. Kabongo is under investigation by the NCAA, which has raised questions about his relationship with Rich Paul, the agent of Miami Heat star LeBron James. The 2012-2013 season starts Nov. 9 against Fresno State. While Kabongo hasn't been declared ineligible and is still allowed to practice with the team, the Longhorns must brace for the possibility that he might not play. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) less

In this Dec. 6, 2011, file photo, Texas coach Rick Barnes, left, talks with Myck Kabongo, right, during an NCAA college basketball game against Texas-Arlington in Austin, Texas. Kabongo is under investigation ... more

Photo: Eric Gay, Associated Press

Barnes may have found fountain of hard truths

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AUSTIN — For years Rick Barnes relied on word of mouth, and the wisdom and values passed down from one generation of Texas basketball players to the next.

Barnes always told his newcomers what he wanted, sure, but the message had more impact when it came from a peer. So just as UT freshmen looked to their upperclassmen to find the best route to class or the best spot near campus to get a haircut, they looked to them to learn how to practice, how to prepare and how to defend.

The problem now for Barnes and the Longhorns is the sources of all that veteran-player knowledge are gone. Heading into the 2012-13 season, which begins at home tonight against Fresno State, UT boasts six freshmen, five sophomores and not a single recruited scholarship junior or senior.

So when Barnes wants the youngsters to realize the importance his previous teams have placed on defense, for example, he has to improvise.

“We show them the tape of what's come before them,” Barnes said. “That's how we have to do it right now.”

The Longhorns hope the tape of what's coming in the next two months doesn't get too ugly. Despite an abundance of inexperience — which will be even more of a factor with sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo sidelined as UT awaits an NCAA ruling on his eligibility — Barnes once again has put together one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules.

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Before Christmas, UT — which has won only one NCAA tournament game in the last three years — will have played at home against North Carolina, on the road at Michigan State, and neutral-site games against Georgetown, UCLA and yet-to-be-determined foes at the Maui Invitational.

Even though the Longhorns' freshmen have talent, and even though teams like Kentucky have proved youth is no excuse in college basketball, Barnes isn't exactly predicting his team will coast through that gantlet unscathed.

Barnes and the Longhorns are less specific about when exactly they'll regain the services of Kabongo, whose offseason trip to Cleveland is being looked into by the NCAA. UT officials are cooperating with the investigation, and the NCAA has yet to say whether Kabongo is ineligible.

But the school announced Thursday that Kabongo — who started all 34 games last year — won't play tonight against Fresno State. It's unlikely he will play any games until there's a ruling, because if he's deemed ineligible, those games would be subject to forfeiture.

While he sits, UT will rely on Javan Felix, a point guard from New Orleans who leads a freshman class also featuring McDonald's All-American Cameron Ridley of Fort Bend Bush.

Sophomore guard Sheldon McClellan, who's expected to be UT's best offensive player this season, said the team shouldn't expect much drop-off from Felix, saying, “he can be one of the best guards in the country.”

Felix said his best attribute is “being fearless,” and he said he's “very comfortable” stepping into Kabongo's role.

And although the Longhorns hope to eventually get Kabongo back, Barnes insisted his early absence isn't any reason to overreact.

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Tough slate

ESPN.com and USA Today rank the non-conference schedule set up by Texas coach Rick Barnes as the toughest in the nation, ahead of Duke, UCLA and Florida. A look at the toughest games coming up (AP rankings in parentheses):

Nov. 19-21: Maui Invitational — Southern California or Illinois in second game; Butler, Marquette, (11) North Carolina or Mississippi State in third game.

Dec. 4: vs. Georgetown, !at New York

Dec. 8: vs. (13) UCLA, !at Houston

Dec. 19: vs. (11) North Carolina

Dec. 22: at (14) Michigan State

Note: UT will have games against Fresno State (today), Coppin State (Nov. 12), Sam Houston State (Nov. 27), UT-Arlington (Dec. 1), Texas State (Dec. 15) and Rice (Dec. 29) to balance things out.

Source: Express-News research

“We're not going to change anything,” Barnes said. “It's going to be flexible enough, interchangeable enough, where we can put anybody in.”